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Driver Lifestyles

Success Tips from Million-Mile Expediters

By Sean M. Lyden - Staff Writer
Posted Mar 3rd 2016 1:20PM

Imagine that you could spend a few moments with successful, million-mile expediters to ask them advice from their years (and miles) of experience to help you learn the ropes and flourish in the expedited trucking business.

Well, that's what we've done for you in this feature on ExpeditersOnline.com. We reached out to four top-performing expediters -- with roles that range from solo driver, to owner-operator, to fleet owner -- to give you real-world tips to set yourself up for long-term success, so you can become a million-mile expediter, too!

Remember you're going to be spending a lot of time in your vehicle, so do the research and pick one that you are comfortable with and offers low cost on regular maintenance. Take extra care of your truck; it's not only your rolling office, it's your home away from home.

Set yourself up with a good expediting carrier, where dispatch to driver work well together, that treats you like a family member, and there's room to grow with them.

You will find that a lot of truck stops sometimes don't offer a lot of healthy food options. So, just as you take care of your truck, it's more important to take care of yourself. In between runs, get plenty of rest and choose healthy foods. Also, enroll in a nationwide gym. Not only is it a good and productive way to pass time between loads, the free showers are a welcome sight at the end of a long haul.

The most Important step: Never take yourself too seriously. Have some fun. A lot of my friends fight for that corner office for a good view while they work. In the front window of my office, the scenery constantly changes -- and that's always refreshing to see.

Make sure you have done plenty of research and have a mentor to rely on for advice.

Know what you per mile operating cost is going to be.

Whether you become an owner or remain a driver, treat it like a business. Operate it like a business and keep your business money and your personal money separate by writing yourself a paycheck each week and keeping the rest in the business.

ExpeditersOnline.com is the Internet's leading information and resource provider for the expedited transportation industry. In fact, with over 80,000 visitors per month, our site is by far the most popular expedited freight destination on the Internet!